Hong Kong Stock Market May Hand Back Thursday's Gains

The Hong Kong stock market bounced higher again on Thursday, one session after it had ended the two-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 350 points or 1.2 percent. The Hang Seng Index now rests just beneath the 29,950-point plateau although it may head south again on Friday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is soft on sliding crude oil prices and ahead of U.S. employment data later today. The European and U.S. markets were down and the Asian markets figure to open in similar fashion.

The Hang Seng finished modestly higher on Thursday as gains from the insurance companies and financials were capped by weakness from the oil companies.

For the day, the index climbed 245.08 points or 0.83 percent to finish at 29,944.18 after trading between 29,643.05 and 29,967.74.